After a year filled with polls, activities, and workshops all
over Greece, UNICEF Greece Country Office and the Network for Children’s Rights organized an event dedicated to the
important moments from the platform’s first year of operation in our country.
The event took place on Tuesday, December 13 at 12:00 pm at
the "Antonis Tritsis" Amphitheater, of the Cultural Center of the
Municipality of Athens, where the program’s milestones and achievements during
2022 were presented, with the aim of empowering and promoting the participation
of young people in matters concerning themselves and their communities.
Representatives from municipalities of Attica, members of civil society,
students of Athens High Schools and High Schools and representatives of youth
organizations attended.
The event started with Mrs. Lina Antara, the Program
Coordinator from UNICEF Greece Country Office, talking about supporting young
people and adolescents in developing skills and abilities that empower their
participation as citizens, which is one of the main program goals of the UNICEF
Greece Country Office. Ms. Antara referred to current and future programs that
focus on promoting social inclusion and participation, as well as using
innovative tools such as U-Report to reach the most excluded groups of young
people and teenagers.
Furthermore, the Network for Children’s Rights, the
implementing partner of the Program, presented the most important polls and
activities implemented in 2022, making
reference to the educational workshops that took place and their important role
in the dissemination of the U-Report platform in Greece, as a tool for young
people's participation and inclusion in society.
The event was also welcomed by the Ombudswoman for the
Child, Mrs. Theoni Koufonikolakou, who, focusing on Article 12 of the UN
Convention on the Rights of the Child, spoke about the right of children to
express their opinion freely, stressing that institutional bodies must listen
to children about issues that directly affect them.
A productive discussion followed with the participation of
three young U-Reporters, Mario Arambatzis, Facinet Camara, as well as the
representative of the youth organization WeFor, Georgia Anagnostaki. The
U-Reporters emphasized the importance of young people's participation in public
affairs, but also the need to empower them through educational activities and experiential
workshops so that they can fully participate and express their opinion freely
on all issues that concern them.
U-Report Greece will continue in 2023 to give voice to
young people on important social and political issues, with the aim of promoting
their participation as active citizens.
